1/2 Klippe Thaler - Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau

Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau ruled Salzburg from 1587 with the ambitions of an Italian Renaissance prince rather than an Alpine ecclesiastic — he had been educated in Rome and maintained close ties to the Farnese family. His extensive building program, which razed much of medieval Salzburg to remake it in Italian baroque style, required aggressive revenue generation, and coinage was part of that apparatus. Klippe issues from his reign were struck as presentation pieces and diplomatic gifts rather than circulation currency, which accounts for the square flan format and the survival rate in comparatively fine condition.